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Untold Realities of Pesticide Poisonings in Yavatmal district in Maharashtra
PAN India Releases Assessment Report on Yavatmal Poisonings and Deaths
-Various pesticides used by a cotton farmer in Yavatmal
Pesticide Action Network (PAN India) today released its assessment report on the unfortunate incident of deaths and poisoings of small scale farmers and farm workers happened in Yavathmal due to inhalational and contact exposures to pesticides. This report shows ground reality of multitude of issues related to cotton farming right from seed to pesticide application practices, farming and working conditions, lack of proper access to information, etc. that have brought in the pathetic situation. The ground reality shows that national laws and International code of conduct on pesticide management among others are grossly violated in Yavatmal.
DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE
Major findings
1.Every year, hundreds of farmers and farm workers access quacks, clinics, individual Doctors, private and public hospitals for pesticide poisoning in Yavatmal district in Maharashtra and Adilabad district in Telangana.
2.There is no rational, scientific and informed medical treatment of affected farmers and farm workers admitted in various hospitals.
3.Farmers and farm workers, who have chronic, persistent health problems due to pesticides exposure and are in need to get medical attention, are being ignored.
4.Medical fraternity in India considers atropine as a universal antidote, with possible serious implications on treatment methods and patient recovery.
5.Relief for families wherein deaths have been reported were the target of government compensation which is a welcome measure. However, families wherein individuals exposed to hazardous pesticides and are suffering from various ailments including nausea, hyperactivity disorder, loose motion, eye burns, etc., did not get any relief.
6.There seems to be no assessment of why cotton plants randomly have grown beyond the average height. Farmers have reported plants growing to six or seven feet. There seems to be a link between genetically modified seed, impact of hazardous pesticides and the presence of foreign genes in cottonseed DNA.
7.Dense planting of cotton and presence of unauthorized ‘Roundup Ready Flex’ Seeds in Yavatmal district needs to be assessed.
8.There is a huge neglect, bordering on disdain, towards the misery faced by the farmers among medical fraternity, regulatory agency officials and agricultural department. There seems to be no rule of law.
9. No efforts can be seen to fix corporate accountability, of agrochemical companies and private medical practitioners.
DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE
Executive Summary
Yavatmal is a pre-dominantly cotton growing area for decades. However, recent deaths and illness-induced hospitalisation due to toxic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides has caught the farmers and farm workers unawares. Even the most sleepy officials and imbecile pesticide marketing network had to notice this genocide, as someone put it.
This year, unfortunate series of deaths and poisonings among farming community due to pesticide exposures very intensively in Yavatmal, and in other districts once again brought this region into limelight. Several deaths and hundreds of poisonings of farmers and farm workers has been reported from Yavatmal, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Amravati, Buldana, Bhandara and Akola districts, with highest number from Yavatmal. Since July this year, in 2017, small-scale farmers and farm workers were getting hospitalized regularly every day due to various debilitating ailments caused by exposure to pesticides. Reports show that farmers and farm workers who have been spraying pesticides in cotton fields have developed problems such as nausea, vomiting, irritation, eye burns, etc. and were taken to hospitals for treatment.
Reports on these unfortunate incidents of deaths and hospitalisation due to exposure pesticides in the cotton fields spurred us to do a field assessment visit to Yavatmal. This team found that farmers visit hospitals on either side, whenever they get exposed to pesticide sprays, both private and public hospitals.
Organophosphate poisoning results from exposure to organophosphates - chemical compounds found in insecticides and nerve agents. According to the latest report as on 15th October 2017, more than 450 poisoning cases and 23 deaths have reported from Yavatmal Medical College Hospital (YMCH) in the past three months. When we visited the hospital, several patients who suffered pesticide poisoning were admitted in the general ward and four were in ICCU. Most of the farmers suffering from pesticide poisonings are small-scale farmers and farm labor working on daily wages or hired sprayers, who mostly belong to downtrodden, neglected adivasi communities.
Inhalational poisoning cases reach their peak during August and September. An analysis revealed that between July 6th and October 11th, 2017, 450 cases of inhalational poisonings due to exposure to pesticides are reported (by the time we prepare the report, more cases have come in). A junior doctor in the hospital said nausea, vomiting, head ache, sweating, restlessness, loose motions, fasciculation (muscle twitch), respiratory distress, pupil constriction, shivering, etc., were commonly noted among the pesticide poisoning cases.
Despite widespread incidence of pesticide poisoning, there is no standard protocol for best, appropriate and real time treatment. India-wise, referral hospitals in districts where pesticide usage is rampant are inadequately equipped in terms of specialized toxicology services, beds, antidote stocks and other necessary equipment and medicines. Number of pesticide poisoned farmers and farm workers were turned out of the public and private hospitals, without proper, adequate and full care, for lack of beds, antidote stocks, low payment capacities and sheer negligence of medical teams.
While medical personnel are unanimous in claiming that all pesticide poisoning cases are treated symptomatically, no diagnostic tests have been done on any of the poisoning cases. There is no information available on the dosage administered to each of the pesticide poisoning patients.
Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College (VNGMC), at Yavatmal, has bed strength of 584. This is a referral hospital with inadequate, and improper facilities, and responsiveness towards pesticide poisoning cases in the district. Conditions with regard to 12 rural hospitals and 61 primary health centres, in this district, most possibly much worse.
Interestingly, all pesticide poisonings are considered as Medico- legal cases (MLCs). If the procedure of MLC is followed fully, every ‘inhalational poisoning’ should have to be investigated by the police. This is not happening here. Yavatmal hospital categorises all accidental poisoning cases as ‘inhalational poisoning’ cases. This team felt that this could be the first step in administering incorrect therapy to agro-chemical poisoning cases. Our assessment shows that use of different pesticides together and pesticide cocktails are generally not factored in diagnosis and treatment decisions.
Medical fraternity in India considers atropine as a universal antidote, with possible serious implications on treatment methods and patient recovery.
Best treatment for poisoning depends on the availability of appropriate antidote in adequate quantity and at the appropriate time after poisoning. Depending on the poison, delayed use or unavailability of an antidote may lead to severe problems. In some poison cases antidote should be administered within 30 minutes of poison ingestion.
Importantly, there is no rational, scientific and informed medical treatment of affected farmers and farm workers admitted in various hospitals. Farmers and farm workers, who have chronic, persistent health problems due to pesticides exposure and are in need to get medical attention, are being ignored.
Approved pesticides (Insecticides, fungicides and Herbicides) and not approved for cotton have been sold and used in Yavatmal. Names of 16 agro-chemicals have emerged, from our assessment and media reports. A thorough study should be able to link particular pesticides with particular problems of exposure. However, attribution of current widespread poisonings to one or two pesticides is being attempted by regulatory agencies, primarily to channelize discontentment over regulatory performance.
A total of 16 brands of various pesticides are used on cotton. An analysis shows eight insecticides including three combination products, a fungicide and two herbicides belonging to eleven technical grade pesticides are used for cotton. We did not get pesticide consumption data in Yavatmal. Yet, it is evident that farmers are using several brands of different pesticides to manage the pest menace in cotton. Farmers and the victims, the team has interacted, said that often they mix chemicals. Interestingly, Maharashtra also approves mixing of pesticides, as per guideline on a website. Scientific explanation of such recommendation is lacking. It needs to be examined further. Be that as it may, in this instance, farmers alone cannot be blamed for mixing pesticides since there is a policy guideline to mix and use. It is another matter whether farmers are following this guideline. The principle of mixing has been endorsed, which to our knowledge is not supported by research or regulation.
It has been noted that farmers / farm workers use several different variants of spraying equipments. It includes hand-operated pumps, battery-linked motor sprayers (locally called as Chinese sprayers) and petrol-fuelled motor sprayers. Faulty sprayers have been blamed. However, how exactly they are faulty is not being explained.
It is a reality that farmers and workers handling with pesticides do not use personal protective equipment. The Insecticides Rules has clearly put forth the required protective clothing including respiratory devices to be used while working with pesticides (Rules 39 and 40). Awareness on the use of pesticides, precautionary measures, safety aspects, etc., are not given to workers who work with pesticides. As a result, they are vulnerable to spillage, exposure, misuse, etc.. While spraying, workers can be exposed to pesticides variously; through direct exposure to spillage, spray drift though inhalation and/ or contact via skin. Continuous absorption of pesticides or cocktail of pesticides, through the skin of the worker, results in higher health risk. We were told that often workers get drenched under the motor-operated sprayers, when their concentration is on avoiding snake bites, wading through the thick cotton crop foliage and in other incidental conditions.
Usually cotton is sown during June and application of pesticides including insecticides and weedicides begins after nearly a month. These days farmers start with herbicides. Farmers report varying spraying schedule, some report once in 10 days while some others reports once in 15 days. They are addicted to usage of pesticides, based on crop growth, rather than on observation of pests and assessment of pest levels.
Farmers and farm workers continue to pay, unnecessarily and exorbitantly for various activities in agriculture. Pesticides, insecticides and fungicides are the usual burdensome cost factors. A rough calculation shows that per 1,000 farmers cost of agro-chemicals, including the health costs, is Rs.4.54 crores per season.
In response to this episode, Maharashtra Government has announced financial support of Rs.2 lakhs to kin of the farmers and farm labour who died due to pesticide exposure. It has also issued guidelines on ‘do’s and don’ts while spraying pesticides, which were in any case available on their website. No effort has been made to bring this information nearer to the farmers and farm workers, even in this crisis period. Yet, most officials, including medical doctors and pesticide marketing network find it easy to blame farmers for not using PPE, consumption of alcohol and indiscriminate spraying practices.
There is a need to appoint a panel of medical specialists, including neurosurgeons, to examine medical treatment given to current pesticide poisoning patients and develop an appropriate treatment procedure for farmers and farm workers admitted in private and public hospitals across Yavatmal district.
Maharashtra should train anganwadi workers and other volunteers in each of the villages in giving first aid to victims of pesticide poisoning. Under Insecticide Act, 1968, specific provision should be brought for compulsory mention of antidote for each licensed pesticide by the manufacturer. No pesticide should be registered without information and commitment by the applicant about the antidote to the particular pesticide.
Pesticide poisoning should be declared as a national tragedy and should be included in the disaster list maintained by the National Disaster Management Authority. A standard medical treatment protocol should be developed at the national level.
The ground reality of multitude of issues related to cotton farming right from seed to pesticide application practices, farming and working conditions, lack of proper access to information, etc., reminds us of the fact that safe use of pesticides is not possible in the given scenario. Though pesticide poisoning was reported in previous years, no sustainable measures have been taken to stop poisonings. It is really a worrisome situation as innocent farmers and farm workers are getting poisoned and dying. It is high time that toxic pesticides are to be banned, at the same time farming communities are to be provided with adequate support both technically and financially to do farming without using chemical pesticides and agrochemical inputs for which several successful model are available in India. Agro-ecological practices have to be encouraged.
In India, pesticides are regulated by various government agencies. The Central Agriculture Ministry regulates manufacture, sales, transport and distribution, export, import and use of pesticides through the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Insecticides Rules 1971. The Central Insecticides Board is responsible for advising the Central and State governments on technical issues related to manufacture, use and safety of pesticides. Its response to this episode is mute and invisible.
In conclusion, attribution of this genocide to one single causal reason is impossible. It is the circumstances, and the combination of different factors that led to these deaths and poisonings. Importantly, harmful pesticides constitute the core cause that lies at centre of these unfortunate series of human loss, along with apathy, disdain, profiteering motives and corruption. Agro-chemicals, with toxic contents, need to be restricted, and ultimately banned.
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Chemical leak in Delhi - PAN India urge to establish pesticide free buffer zones around schools
Press Release | 10th May, 2017
Toxic chemical leak in Delhi had left children breathless and in agony
Chemical leak near two schools in New Delhi reminds us of the urgent need to create chemical-free buffer zones around education institutions. This chemical leak incident that happened very close to two schools in the Tughlakabad area in Delhi, in the morning of 6th May 2017, had left children breathless and in agony.
According to reports, school going children inhaled a toxic chemical 2-Chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine, leaking from a truck parked in a container depot located near two schools in southeast Delhi’s Tughlaqabad area. More than 400 girls were immediately impacted and were hospitalised. Students of Government Girls Senior Secondary School (GGSSS) and Rani Jhansi School were taken to nearby hospitals as they complained of severe eye irritation and breathlessness. According to news reports, students complained of vomiting, coughing, and feeling uneasy and eye irritation.
School students under treatment in a hospital, Delhi. Source: PTI Photo
As reported, at least 487 school students and teachers and residents of a colony in Tughlaqabad fell sick on Saturday after inhaling fumes emanating from a liquid (2-Chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine).
The National Disaster Response Force had reported that the truck contained 80 cans of 2-Chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine. The truck was parked in the Tughlaqabad depot waiting customs clearance. Reports say the chemical container was imported from China and was to be taken to Sonepat in Haryana.
Chemical leaked in Delhi is used for manufacture of insecticides and pesticides
2-Chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine is used in the production of an insecticide imidacloroprid, which has been found to be extremely toxic to non-target insects and bees. According to Pubchem, an open chemistry database of US National Library of Medicine, 2-Chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine is a dangerous chemical having the potential to cause severe skin burns and eye damage.
Apparently, some quick action from school authorities, and NDRF, has contained the situation, and has saved children from serious impacts. However, medical parameters of the affected children need to be monitored for a longer period, to rule out chronic impacts. Incidentally, this happened in the heart of the Indian capital. One can only imagine what if the same leak happened near rural schools, or locations, which are far away from hospitals and rapid action teams. Is India ready to protect its children from chemical accidents, incidents and neglect of safety by the transporters, storage operators and chemical or pesticide users? India did not learn much from the Bhopal disaster in 1984.
Apart from the discussion whether the Delhi gas leak is a unfortunate incident or an accident, school going children are exposed to similar hazards on a daily basis in most rural areas across India, as pesticide sprays, often more dangerous than 2-Chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine. Children in schools located near agricultural fields, and plantations, inhale drift from pesticide sprays. Scientific research has established long back that children whose breath is faster than adults are likely to be impacted more severely.
Children impacted by toxic chemicals is an indication of negligence and failure of regulatory regime
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) India director C. Jayakumar said, “it is so sad that children had become victims of hazardous substances which are inputs in the manufacture of agrochemicals. Even after several incidents right from the Bhopal gas tragedy, our authorities have not realized the seriousness of the problem and are not taking measures to keep away hazardous chemicals from the vicinity of even education institutions in view of public health and safety”. Adding further, he said, “in India, we have successfully established tobacco and alcohol free zones around schools but failed to bring in such restrictions for more dangerous substances such as chemicals and pesticides.”
Pesticides free buffer zones around education institutions needed
Dr. Narasimha Reddy Donthi of PAN India pointed to the urgent need of establishing buffer-zones of at least a kilometre around education institutions and child care centres. Hazardous chemicals, pesticides and or raw materials used to produce such dangerous chemicals should not be stored, manufactured or used in any form near this safe zone.
Dileep Kumar A. D., Programme Coordinator of PAN India, said “carelessness of manufacturers, importers, transporters and users of hazardous chemicals and pesticides, and inaction of concerned authorities today compromises the safety of children. The future of nation is in the hands of children and therefore they should get a toxic free life and poison free environment to grow”.
PAN India urges the Central and State Governments to come up with stringent measures to keep away hazardous chemicals and pesticides from the vicinity of education institutions, to ensure safety of children. Considering public health and safety, authorities must come up with policies towards the establishment of pesticide-free buffer zones at least around schools while efforts should be taken to phase out production and use of agrochemicals.
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PAN Welcomes Listing of Pesticides under the Rotterdam Convention
Press Release | 6th May 2017
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) welcomes the positive outcomes and discussions at the 8th Conference of Parties (COPS) to the Rotterdam Convention that held from 24 April to 5 May 2017.
In particular, we are pleased that two pesticides, carbofuran and trichlorfon, were listed under the Rotterdam Convention. Carbofuran has caused many poisonings of both people and wildlife. Wpeste also welcome the serious discussion of gender issues, as the impact of chemicals on the health of women and children is too often ignored. Involving women in decision making and in programmes to reduce highly hazardous pesticides and to replace them with agroecology, is essential. We need policies to support women’s leadership in all levels and programmes to strengthen their capacity.
We welcome the recognition of the need to link human rights and sound management of chemicals and waste, and we would like to suggest that the next COPs has a paper on the implications of human rights on sound management of chemicals.
PAN is however, disappointed that we were excluded from important discussions on the effectiveness of the Rotterdam Convention. As CSOs, we have much to contribute in and we hope that CSOs will be included in the future work on this issue.
Moreover, we are very disappointed that paraquat dichloride and fenthion were not included in Annex 3 of Rotterdam Convention even though they met the criteria for the listing. Rotterdam facilitates information sharing and so we urge those countries who blocked their listing to go to fields and plantations and see the real impact of these pesticides on the health of workers, farmers and their communities and the environment and not just look at its narrow economic benefits.
Finally, in closing, we call on the Parties to the Conventions to respond positively to the request from The State of Palestine for assistance with the removal of banned pesticides and chemical waste, and with the implementation of sound management including monitoring and prevention of illegal traffic in chemicals and waste. In addition, a programme of monitoring and clean up is desperately needed.
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PAN India support listing of 5 pesticides in Anex III of Rotterdam Convention
Blog | 29th April 2017
PAN India support listing of all the five dangerous pesticides in the Annex III of Rotterdam Convention. The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure of the Rotterdam Convention is a means for formally obtaining and disseminating information that was agreed by governments so that decisions can be made based on scientific information that are reviewed by a technical committee. Listing in the PIC list ensures information flow and is not a ban or restriction. The Convention promotes shared responsibility between exporting and importing countries in protecting human health and the environment from the harmful effects of such chemicals and provides for the exchange of information about potentially hazardous chemicals that may be exported and imported.
All five pesticides proposed for listing into the PIC list are registered for use in India (Ref.: Insecticides/Pesticides Registered under section 9(3) of the Insecticides Act, 1968 for use in the Country, as on 30th October, 2016). They are the following: 1. Fenthion, 2.Trichlorfon, 3. Paraquat dichloride, 4. Carbofuran, and 5. Carbosulfan (Refer table no. 1 given below to learn more on toxicological information, approved use in India and international regulatory status of these pesticides). Approved use of pesticides obtained from CIB&RC website shows two formulations of Fenthion, three formulations each of Trichlorfon and Carbosulfan, and one formulation each of paraquat dichloride and carbofuran are approved for use in India.
Research and documentation over the past couple of years revealed that use of pesticides in India is not complying with the national laws as well as the International Code of Conduct on Pesticides management. Safe use of pesticides cannot be expected under this approach. Farmers are not properly informed on the inherent risks of use of pesticides. They are neither trained on how to use pesticides nor on the use of personal protective equipments (PPE). Farmers lack access to PPE, apply pesticides without using recommended PPE and put themselves in danger in various ways. Use of pesticides in the ground is not complying with the national approved use. Farmers are ingrained in using pesticides, ignoring precautions and adopting practices that suit their capacities and resulted in unsafe, indiscriminate and illegal practices while non chemical alternatives are available. Entire chain of commercial pesticide supply is unregulated.
These facts necessitate sincere efforts from the government to protect its people and environment. Towards this, we urge the Government of India to support the listing of paraquat and all other four pesticides - Fenthion, Trichlorfon, Carbofuran, Carbosulfan- in the Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, so as to facilitate the process of sharing information in international trade of such pesticides between parties and non parties to the Convention. Rotterdam Convention is only about prior informed consent. Listing of pesticides and chemicals in this Convention will help in arriving at informed decisions while handling such hazardous pesticides for both parties and non-party countries to the Rotterdam Convention, and thereby contribute to minimization of human and environmental hazards, addressing concerns over risk and hazards as well as achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
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Consolidated List Of Banned Pesticides-Pan International
Press Release | PAN International | 24th May 2017
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) has frequently been asked for information on pesticides that have been banned by countries. The Consolidated List of Banned Pesticides (CL) has been developed to identify which pesticides have been banned by particular countries because there appears to be no other source for such information. Please download and read the Explanatory Note before attempting to read the spreadsheet of countries.
PAN will update the spreadsheet approximately every 6 months.
Every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this CL is correct, but inevitably there will be errors, simply because for some countries there are conflicting lists of bans. If any country notices errors relating to their bans, please inform PAN at info@panap.net with the subject line Consolidated List of Bans. Additionally, PAN would welcome any information from countries not yet included in the list.
Explanatory Note for the Consolidated List of Banned Pesticides (download) Consolidated List of Banned Pesticides (download)
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PESTICIDES DON'T RESPECT NATIONAL BORDERS
21th April 2017 | PAN International
PAN International Press Release in Advance of the Conferences of the Parties to the 2017 Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
Pesticide Action Network International (PAN International) looks forward to the meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions from April 24 to May 5, 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. We urge the Parties to agree to the listing of the recommended hazardous pesticides and chemicals and to find mechanisms to ensure effective functioning of these treaties.
As part of the preparation for these combined Conferences of Parties, PAN International is providing an updated list of pesticide bans around the world, with verified information from 106 countries. We are releasing the 3rd edition of the Consolidated List of Bans, which shows that 370 pesticide active ingredients are banned in one or more countries. The updated list includes 49 new pesticides and 4 new countries.
We urge the Parties to promote agroecology as the preferred and viable alternative to the use of highly hazardous pesticides in agricultural production. Agroecological approaches to farming not only help farmers thrive in their agricultural production but also bring multiple social, health, environmental and economic benefits to the communities where agroecology is practiced.
PAN International asks Parties to these treaties to focus their attention on better compliance and decision making procedures in the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, ensuring that the most hazardous chemicals are addressed in ways that protect human health and the environment worldwide.
Due to ineffective treaty procedures, such as those in the Rotterdam Convention requiring consensus rather than implementing the will of the majority of Parties to list chemicals, a very few countries have been able to prevent progress being made towards achieving protections from hazardous chemicals for communities around the world.
In the Rotterdam Convention Conference of Parties, several countries have twice prevented the listing of a formulation of the highly hazardous pesticide paraquat because they want to continue to export this pesticide without being required to alert the importing country governments and giving them the opportunity to deny its entry into their country. Paraquat, an herbicide with high acute toxicity, is widely banned around the world as it causes many occupational and non- occupational deaths every year.
“Listing of a chemical under the Rotterdam Convention is not a ban, it just gives countries the ability to make informed choices. We hope that the Rotterdam Convention Conference of Parties will agree to the African proposal to amend the Convention to allow voting rather than requiring a consensus-based decision making process for the listing of chemicals, so that the vast majority are not blocked by a few” said Dr. Meriel Watts, senior science advisor for PAN Asia Pacific.
PAN International also urges the Stockholm Convention Conference of Parties to arrive at an enforceable compliance mechanism to hold accountable the Parties who are disregarding the provisions of the Convention. For example, Brazil, the only country to have registered its use of the ant bait poison sulfluramid, which breaks down into the listed persistent organic pollutant PFOS, is exporting it to other Latin American countries, where it is not registered and who are using it for purposes banned under the Stockholm Convention. This is a blatant disregard for the decision of the Convention regarding sulfluramid.
“It is necessary for countries to reach an agreement to list hazardous chemicals like sulfluramid in the treaty. However, there have to be robust mechanisms to ensure that Parties fully comply with the decisions taken as part of the treaty process. Right now, Brazil is not fully complying with the decision regarding sulfluramid taken under the Stockholm Convention. This needs to be addressed urgently, and overall compliance mechanisms strengthened for the Convention” said Javier Souza Casadinho, regional coordinator of PAN Latin America, RAPAL.
We also urge the Parties of the Stockholm Convention to renew their commitment to the ban on the use DDT for malaria control and minimize acceptance of requests from countries for exemptions from this ban. There are very effective Integrated Vector Management approaches, not relying on the use of DDT, that have been proven to work well in African, Latin American and Asian contexts to control malaria.
“Indoor Residual Spraying with DDT is not successful in the long-term for malaria vector control. Community level work on the ground in various African countries has shown that Integrated Vector Management can achieve successful malaria control. We call on the Stockholm Convention to not approve further exemptions from the DDT ban for malaria control” said Dr. Abou Thiam, executive director of PAN Africa.
Failing to protect communities from highly hazardous pesticides and other dangerous chemicals is a violation of their human right to health. PAN International urges the global community to help minimize contamination of the environment by highly hazardous pesticides and their impacts on human health. These pesticides must be replaced by least toxic pest and vector management approaches that are effective in the long term.
Available for interview:
Dr. Meriel Watts +64-21-1807830; meriel@merielwatts.net
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International Network Welcomes UN Special Rapporteur’s Call for Global Regulation of Pesticides
Press Release |7th March 2017
Geneva, Switzerland - Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International welcomes the release today of the report on the use of agricultural pesticides by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food. Special Rapporteur Hilal Elver today presented her report to the 34th session of the United National Human Rights Council. She noted the ongoing impacts of pesticides on people, the environment and human rights and the failure to hold the pesticide industry accountable for these effects and recommended that:
The international community must work on a comprehensive, binding treaty to regulate hazardous pesticides throughout their life cycle, taking into account human rights principles.
PAN unreservedly supports this recommendation and urges the international community to swiftly begin the process of negotiating a treaty. Such a mandatory treaty will generate policies to reduce pesticide use worldwide and develop a framework for the banning and phasing-out of highly hazardous pesticides and promoting agroecology.
In 2015, the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), an international policy framework to promote chemical safety around the world, finally recognized highly hazardous pesticides as an ‘issue of concern’. SAICM recommended replacement of pesticides with sustainable, low toxic approaches to agriculture, such as agroecologically-based practices.
The only global mechanism looking at comprehensive management of chemicals, SAICM is set to end by 2020 without having achieved any significant reductions in pesticide poisonings. The time is right for putting into practice the recommendation by the Special Rapporteur for a binding treaty to regulate hazardous pesticides throughout their life cycle.
Sarojeni Rengam, Executive Director of PAN Asia Pacific strongly supports the idea of a new binding treaty and said “SAICM ends in 2020. The need for a binding international treaty for management of pesticides is becoming very clear and is an urgent need for moving forward the work started through SAICM. This is critically needed to protect the human right to food and also to protect vulnerable populations like children, farm workers and others from the harmful impacts of pesticides used in conventional agriculture in much of the world”.
Javier Souza Coordinator of RAPAL, PAN Latin America, said “the human right to food implies not only access to food but also an adequate quality of that food. The intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers together with the use of genetically modified seeds results in a loss of food quality. PAN International demands that at the global level binding mechanisms are set up that promote agroecological methods of food production for generating sustainable, viable and resilient agroecosystems.”
PAN International has worked extensively on the issue of Highly Hazardous Pesticides or HHPs in agriculture and released a new version of a list of such HHPs in December 2016. Susan Haffmans from PAN Germany said “Highly Hazardous Pesticides are a big contributor to health and environmental harms around the globe. There is no “safe use” of hazardous pesticides. For the sake of future generations the international community should act now and agree on a binding treaty to regulate and ultimately phase out hazardous pesticides and to promote agroecological alternatives.
Having seen first-hand the successes of agroecology in promoting good health and a safe environment Abou Thiam, Director of PAN Africa added that “Agriculture around the world can no longer be dependent on a resource intensive, environmentally destructive paradigm that harms communities and produces lower quality food. Binding international mechanisms promoting agroecology have to be set up that protect human health and the environment and increase farm output, biodiversity and resilience.”
PAN UK has worked extensively to promote agroecological practices in a number of key crops in Africa and Latin America. Keith Tyrell, Director of PAN UK said “Today there are no excuses for continuing business- as-usual when it comes to agriculture. Food and fiber are being grown successfully without the use of HHPs around the world. The Special Rapporteur’s report unmasks the forces that try to make resource intensive agriculture look like the acceptable norm. We must push forward the right to food that is cultivated safely and sustainably.”
Judy Hatcher, Executive Director of PAN North America summed up by saying “The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food highlighted the corporate control over the agricultural system around much of the globe. This corporate capture of the food system has resulted in devastation for communities around the world and led to artificial scarcity and poor quality foods. It is time to right this wrong and get a robust international mechanism in place that will truly protect our human right to food.”
Pesticide Action Network, an international network with regional centers on five continents, has been working for over 35 years to bring attention to the problem of pesticide poisoning, and to spur international action to address the problem.
The Special Rapporteur’s report is available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Food/Pages/Annual.aspx
Available for interview:
Abou Thiam, PAN Africa, abouthiam@pan-afrique.org, +223 64898163 Sarojeni Rengam, PAN Asia Pacific, sarojeni.rengam@panap.net Susan Haffmans, PAN Germany, susan.haffmans@pan-germany.org , +49(0)40-3991910-25 Javier Souza Casadinho, PAN Latin America, javierrapal@yahoo.com.ar ,+11 15 3617 1782 Paul Towers, PAN North America, ptowers@panna.org , +10119165883100 Keith Tyrell, PAN United Kingdom, keithtyrell@pan-uk.org , +447588706224
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Comprehensive New Review of Monsanto’s Glyphosate Underscores Urgent Need for Global Action
Press Release | 10th October 2016
In a “state of the science” review released today, PAN International presents a large body of research documenting the adverse human health and environmental impacts of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides and underscores the need for a global phase-out. Environmental and health advocates say the monograph on the world’s most widely used herbicide, commonly known by its original trade name Roundup, should serve as a wake up call for regulators, governments and users around the world.
Adverse human impacts detailed in the review include acute poisoning, kidney and liver damage, imbalances in the intestinal microbiome and intestinal functioning, cancer, genotoxicity, endocrine disruption, reproductive and developmental reduction, neurological damage, and immune system dysfunction.
Aggressive public relations and marketing by glyphosate’s developer, Monsanto, has resulted in the widespread perception that the chemical is ‘safe’. Registration processes continue to allow its use without raising concerns about its safety even as new data identifying adverse effects emerge.
This review dispels this myth of ‘safety’ and highlights the urgent need to re-examine the authorization of products containing glyphosate. A full chemical profile is presented, along with the regulatory status of products containing glyphosate in many countries and information on viable alternatives.
Glyphosate is included in PAN International’s “List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides” (1) targeted for global phaseout. The global network is calling for the herbicide to be replaced by agroecological approaches to weed management in diversified cropping systems and non-crop situations.
Glyphosate is sprayed on numerous crops and plantations, including about 80% of genetically engineered, or GE crops, as well as a pre-harvest desiccant, which results in high food residues. It is also widely used in home gardens and public places including roadsides, and semi-natural and natural habitats. Due to its widespread use residues are now detected in different types of foods, drinking water, wine and beer; and even in non-food products derived from GM cotton. The extent of human exposure is confirmed by the presence of glyphosate in human urine wherever it has been tested, principally in Europe and North America; it has also been found in breast milk in the USA.
The 2015 classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen resulted in widespread concern about its continued use, especially pre-harvest and in public places.
As a result, national bans and restrictions, and voluntary action by local authorities and retailers to curb use are rising dramatically. Sri Lanka was the first country to ban it completely, although the ban has recently been relaxed to allow use in tea plantations; Italy has banned pre-harvest use, and all use in public places and those frequented by children and the elderly; France is phasing out the use of pesticides in towns and public areas; and the European Union has extended approval for glyphosate for only 18 months instead of the usual 15 years. The research and evidence detailed in the review released today provides valuable scientific evidence for all communities wanting to follow these leads.
Environmental impacts detailed in the monograph are no less concerning, and include adverse effects on ecosystem functioning, pollination services, biological controls, soil fertility and crop health. Residues are widespread in the environment, including in rainwater, surface and ground waters, and the marine environment. Glyphosate can persist in some soils for up to 3 years; and there is some evidence of bioaccumulation.
Resistance to glyphosate is now recorded in 35 weed species and in 27 countries, mostly caused by the repeated use of glyphosate in GE crops, no-till agriculture, and amenity use.
The monograph also contains a useful section on alternative weed management and provides information on a wide variety of non-chemical approaches to weed management in various situations.
Keith Tyrell, Director, PAN-UK:
“This new study from PAN International’s team of scientists clearly shows that glyphosate can cause a multitude of health and environmental problems. Our regulator’s need to wake up and ban this chemical now.”
Dr Meriel Watts, PAN New Zealand:
“The time has come for global recognition of the widespread harm caused to people and the environment from the constant use of glyphosate. For too long regulators have ignored the mounting evidence of damage, hiding behind unpublished studies by Monsanto, which not surprisingly paint a picture of a benign chemical startlingly at odds with reality.”
Fernando Bejarano, PAN Mexico (RAPAM)
"The intrinsic hazards of glyphosate and their use in tolerant transgenic crops are unacceptable if we want to achieve a sustainable food system, so we need a global phase out and a shift in policies promoting instead agroecological alternatives for weed control and crop rotation in diversified crop systems."
Dr. Peter Clausing, PAN Germany:
“In 2017 the European Chemicals Agency has to decide whether it accepts the compelling evidence for glyphosate’s carcinogenicity and declares it a carcinogen. This would be an overdue acknowledgement of the reality.”
Dr. Emily Marquez, staff scientist, PAN North America:
“The glyphosate mess illustrates the problems with industrial agriculture. Farmers are again trapped on a pesticide treadmill, as widespread adoption of Monsanto’s genetically engineered “Roundup-Ready” crops resulted in glyphosate-resistant superweeds. And yet again, human health impacts of the chemical come to light after years of widespread use. It’s time to shift away from this failing cycle of chemical reliance.”
Jayakumar Chelaton, PAN India
“Every month we get a new story of how glyphosate is harming people in the farms and off farms in rural India. It is clearly damaging people and planet.”
Sarojeni V. Rengam, PAN Asia and the Pacific
“Glyphosate is a highly hazardous pesticide. There are other ecosystem based non-chemical alternatives that do not require the use of such hazardous herbicides. We therefore urge Monsanto and other agrochemical corporations to stop the production and marketing of glyphosate in order to ensure the health of people and the environment.”
Dr Angeliki Lyssimachou, PAN Europe
“This remarkable compilation of scientific studies reveals that glyphosate-based pesticides -despite what their manufactures’ claim- are far from ‘safe’. Hundreds of non-industry funded studies show that these products are gradually poisoning our people, our environment and its ecosystems. Regulators must stop playing blind and take action to ban all uses of glyphosate.”
The full Monograph review can be accessed here.
For more information please contact:
Dr Meriel Watts, PAN New Zealand: +64-21-1807830; merielwatts@xtra.co.nz
Keith Tyrell, PAN-UK: +44 (0) 7588706224: keith@pan-uk.org
Paul Towers, PAN North America: 915-216-1082, paul@panna.org
Dr. Peter Clausing, PAN Germany: +49 (0) 176-7801 2705, peter.clausing@pan-germany.org
C. Jayakumar, PAN India jayakumar.c@gmail.com
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Ecological Agriculture is a political activity to ensure safe food for all
Press Release| PAN India
Releasing the book, “Replacing chemicals with Biology: Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology” at the Kerala Agriculture university campus Vellayani, Thiruvanathapuram, Dr. T M Thomas Isaac M. L. A. (former finance Minister, Kerala) said that the book would certainly be a great encouragement to the organic farming activities happening in Kerala and would strengthen the organic farming movements. He stressed that we need to realize the long term impacts pesticides and agrochemicals, and also industrialization of the agriculture sector. Also he pointed out the impact of modern agriculture with the example of sub Saharan Africa, quoting the book, “Seeds of Famine’.
The agribusiness is only looking at its profit, not concerned on the long term impact of chemicalising agriculture. The economics of modern agribusiness is aimed at generating more and more profits, not on developing sustainable agriculture and ensuring safe food. There is a vested interest on the unsustainable agriculture by the modern agribusiness and is aimed at accumulating their profit by controlling agriculture input market. Dr. Isaac pointed it is a kind of developing a thrown away culture, through advertisements and other practices, and as part of the economy these inherent rules and practices are largely becoming into a waste economy. And because of this, organic farming is gaining importance as a political activity. Here, everybody can participate in this political activity, not only farmers, but also for those who do not even have land to cultivate. Those who do not have enough land can also do organic farming in grow bags and also do terrace farming. Each and everyone can participate in this activity by managing and recycling household biodegradable waste, making it into manure through composting and do organic farming with the same manure. In addition, organic is also important in mitigating climate change. Thus organic farming is a political activity to ensure fresh vegetables, safe food, recycling biodegradable waste and also a resistance against the monopolisation of agriculture and agribusiness.
He encouraged the students in the KAU campus to adopt a ward in Trivandrum and support the residents in doing composting and organic farming and to develop it into a model of ultimate green solution.
The book release function was jointly organized by PAN India along with Thanal and Students Union in Kerala Agriculture University at the Vellayani Campus, Trivandrum on 7th October. This PAN International publication was originally released at the fourth session of International Conference on Chemical Management (ICCM4).
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Book release: “Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology”
Press Release by PAN India, Thanal and KAU Students Union
PAN India along with Thanal and KAU Students Union organizing an event at Kerala Aggriculture University Vellayani Campus, Trivandrum on 7th October at 1pm to release the new book on agroecology “Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology”, published by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International.
The book would be released by Dr. T. M. Thomas Isaac MLA (former financial minister, Kerala), and the first copy would be received by Mr. Ajmal, General Secretary, Students Union, Kerala Agriculture University, Vellayani, Thiruvanathapuram.
This book was originally launched on 29th September at the 4th International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4) held in Geneva during 28th September and 2nd October 2015. The resolution acknowledges that HHPs causes severe adverse effects on human health and the environment. The ICCM4 has recognized highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) as an "issue of concern." The conference in its resolution, supported concerted action to address HHPs and welcomed a strategy to address them that has been developed by UNEP, FAO and WHO. Significantly, the ICCM4 placed emphasis on the need to promote agroecological alternatives instead of replacing them with another chemical pesticide.
FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, said in Paris in February this year "The model of agricultural production that predominates today is not suitable for the new food security challenges of the 21st century. Since food production is not a sufficient condition for food security, it means that the way we are producing is no longer acceptable."
"Modern agroecological approaches to food production, together with many of the ecological practices that have evolved with farmers working alongside nature through hundreds of years, are proving to be sustainable, economically advantageous and good for food security" says Dr Meriel Watts from PAN Asia Pacific and main author of the book.
Successful cases of agroecological farming in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and USA, presented in the book, substantiating the long-standing claim that ecological principles applied to agriculture are effective tools in the management of pests, including weeds, and provide sustainable livelihoods to farmers and rural communities.
"There is world recognition that agricultural production cannot continue its business as usual. Agroecology offers a viable strategy to increase agricultural productivity, build farmers' resilience, and protect the environment," says Sarojeni Rengam, executive director of PAN Asia Pacific.
"The experiences in this book show how farmers using agroecological practices benefit from savings on agrochemical inputs and from improving their overall farm productivity. Getting better prices or market options for safer food helps farming households too" says Dr Stephanie Williamson, from PAN UK, and co-author of the book.
The case studies show that agroecological farming can improve food security and strengthen food sovereignty, while providing better adaptation to climate change and reducing harmful environmental impacts.
"Advancing equitable and sustainable development goals in agriculture requires grounding agrifood systems in agroecology as the central strategy," says Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, Senior Scientist at PAN North America, and one of the contributors to the book. "By integrating state-of-the-art science with local and traditional knowledge, agroecology offers a powerful solution to today's mounting social, economic and environmental stresses of climate change, water scarcity, land degradation and rural poverty."
Agroecological practices can increase farm productivity and food security, improves rural livelihoods and adaption to climate change, and reduces the environmental impacts of agriculture. The new PAN book was written to address the concerns of policy makers around the world who are faced with the need to replace the use of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) with safer and sustainable alternatives. The book presents national and international policy recommendations designed to help implement the changes necessary to support widespread adoption of agroecology. This book is also to assist governments and policy makers to initiate a collective action to reduce the human impacts of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) and come out with a clear timeline for the global phase-out of HHPs, and to replace the hazardous pesticides with the sound science of agroecology for sustaining agriculture.
Download the book here
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Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology: Pesticide Action Network releases book at ICCM4
Press Release by PAN International | 29th September 2016
Agroecological practices can increase farm productivity and food security, improve rural livelihoods and adaption to climate change, and reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture.
At the 4th International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4) in Geneva, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) International is releasing its book Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out highly hazardous pesticides with agroecology. click to download
FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, said in Paris in February this year "The model of agricultural production that predominates today is not suitable for the new food security challenges of the 21st century… Since food production is not a sufficient condition for food security, it means that the way we are producing is no longer acceptable."
The new PAN book was written to address the concerns of policy makers around the world who are faced with the need to replace the use of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) with safer and sustainable alternatives.
"Modern agroecological approaches to food production, together with many of the ecological practices that have evolved with farmers working alongside nature through hundreds of years, are proving to be sustainable, economically advantageous and good for food security" says Dr Meriel Watts from PAN Asia Pacific and main author of the book.
Successful cases of agroecological farming in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and USA, presented in the book, substantiating the long-standing claim that ecological principles applied to agriculture are effective tools in the management of pests, including weeds, and provide sustainable livelihoods to farmers and rural communities.
"There is world recognition that agricultural production cannot continue its business as usual. Agroecology offers a viable strategy to increase agricultural productivity, build farmers' resilience, and protect the environment," says Sarojeni Rengam, executive director of PAN Asia Pacific.
"The experiences in this book show how farmers using agroecological practices benefit from savings on agrochemical inputs and from improving their overall farm productivity. Getting better prices or market options for safer food helps farming households too" says Dr Stephanie Williamson, from PAN UK, and co-author of the book.
The case studies show that agroecological farming can improve food security and strengthen food sovereignty, while providing better adaptation to climate change and reducing harmful environmental impacts.
"Advancing equitable and sustainable development goals in agriculture requires grounding agrifood systems in agroecology as the central strategy," says Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, Senior Scientist at PAN North America, and one of the contributors to the book. "By integrating state-of-the-art science with local and traditional knowledge, agroecology offers a powerful solution to today's mounting social, economic and environmental stresses of climate change, water scarcity, land degradation and rural poverty."
The book also presents national and international policy recommendations designed to assist policy makers to implement the changes necessary to support widespread adoption of agroecology.
At the ICCM4 meeting in Geneva, Sep 28- October 2, 2015, delegates can decide to take action on a request by the Africa region to formally establish a Global Alliance to Phase-out HHPs. PAN is co-organizing a side event with the global NGO network, IPEN, entitled "Closing the Gap on Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs): Agroecology & the Global Alliance to Phase-out HHPs." The book, Replacing Chemicals with Biology, will be released at this event, as it provides concrete guidance to government delegates which also support the Africa region's proposal for action.
Notes for Editors: Numerous high level studies, including those by the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food have concluded that the greatest scope for improving food production and food security lies in small-scale, ecologically-based diversified production systems, especially in developing countries.
“If we do persist with business as usual, the world’s people cannot be fed over the next half-century. It will mean more environmental degradation, and the gap between the haves and have-nots will expand. We have an opportunity now to marshal our intellectual resources to avoid that sort of future. Otherwise we face a world nobody would want to inhabit.” - Professor Robert T. Watson, Director of the IAASTD
“… scaling up agroecological practices can simultaneously increase farm productivity and food security, improve incomes and rural livelihoods, and reverse the trend towards species loss and genetic erosion.” - Olivier de Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, 2011
About the book Download
Replacing Chemicals with Biology: Phasing out Highly Hazardous Pesticides with Agroecology” provides powerful evidence from The current model of industrial agriculture is a dead end every region of the world of improved yields, greater profitability for farmers, improved health, improved food security and sovereignty, greater resilience to adverse climate events, better opportunities for women farmers, improved biodiversity and social benefits such as better cooperation between farmers and within communities. For example, farmers practicing Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture in India find that their costs have been slashed by a third whilst yields have been maintained. There are seven core principles of agroecology which aim to develop and maintain an agroecosystem that works with nature, not against it – creating a balance that keeps pests in check.
Adverse effects of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) on people and the environment have been a global concern for many years. In 2006, this was clearly expressed by the FAO Council when it recommended a progressive ban on HHPs. The concern crystallized at UNEP’s Fourth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4) in Nairobi in 2012, with the submission of a conference room paper supported by at least 65 countries and organizations. The proposed resolution included supporting “a progressive ban on HHPs and their substitution with safer alternatives”. While the resolution was not immediately adopted, countries participating in subsequent regional meetings of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) have reiterated concern about HHPs and called for more information on ecosystem-based alternatives. At SAICM’s Open-Ended Working Group in December 2014, following a call by the entire African region for a global alliance to phase-out these chemicals, it was agreed a proposal would be developed for ICCM4.
Pesticides, designed to kill living organisms and deliberately released into the environment, now contaminate all parts of the world – soil, water, air, fog, snow, ice, the bark of trees, the Arctic, grasses high in the Himalayas and wildlife everywhere. They also contaminate people across the globe, and ordinary everyday exposures through use, drift and residues in food and water have resulted in a huge human toll including acute effects, chronic health problems and deaths.
Recent field surveys show that a very high proportion of farmers and agricultural workers exposed to pesticides through their work are suffering acute health effects: in Pakistan, 100 percent of women picking cotton after pesticides were sprayed, in Bangladesh 85 percent of applicators, in Burkina Faso 82 percent of farmers and in Brazil 45 percent of agricultural workers surveyed. Agricultural production also suffers from loss of pollinators and the beneficial insects that provide natural control of pests.
The purpose of this publication is to provide information drawn from all regions to assist countries in replacing HHPs with ecosystem-based approaches to pest and crop management – replacing chemicals with biology. It draws together previously published and new material in a form that is accessible for policy- and decision-makers at the national and international level, as well as providing practical guidance at the farm and farm-support level. It also points out that use, and phasing out, of HHPs must be seen in the context not only of human health and environmental impacts and costs, but also in the context of food security, poverty reduction, and climate change.
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AnupamVarma Commitee Report
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